Nazario and Garcia Capture WR Bughouse Open Crown
Key Takeaways
- •Marc Christian Nazario and Jan Emmanuel Garcia won the WR Bughouse Open in Quezon City, defeating Donguines and Baylosis in a best-of-three final to claim P100,000.
- •More than 100 participants played eight qualification rounds for eight playoff berths at the one-day event.
- •Nazario previously reached the quarterfinals of the inaugural WR Bughouse Championship in Taguig last June with a different partner.
- •Samson Lim III and Jerich Cajeras of Metaboys took third place, blanking DCSK's pair in two outings.
- •The tournament received backing from WR Chess' Wadim Rosenstein, the PSC, Quezon City, and the NCFP, signaling institutional support for bughouse in the Philippines.
Marc Christian Nazario has built a local reputation as one of the best—if not the best—bughouse chess players in the Philippines today. On a rainy, stormy Saturday night, the 32-year-old former national junior champion proved exactly why, teaming up with Olympiad veteran Jan Emmanuel Garcia to rule the WR Bughouse Open at the MICE Center in Quezon City.
Bughouse, also known as "transfer chess," is a four-player team variant played on two boards in which captured pieces are passed to a partner and re-entered into play—making it one of the fastest and most chaotic forms of competitive chess. Once largely a casual sideline at chess clubs, the format has gained organized international backing in recent years through the Germany-based WR Chess circuit, whose events have now reached Philippine shores.
Nazario and Garcia, an International Master (IM), outlasted Benilde Blazers' John Laurence Donguines and Daniel Baylosis by winning the final two matches of their best-of-three title showdown to claim the top prize of P100,000.
Nazario's standing in the discipline was further underlined by his earlier feat: paired with a different partner, he was part of one of only two Philippine pairs to reach the quarterfinals of the stronger inaugural WR Bughouse Championship in Taguig last June.
"From losing early, barely making Top 8, then taking down the teams that beat us before, it was a proud moment for me," said the National Master, who hails from Quezon City.
Metaboys' Samson Lim III and Jerich Cajeras, who topped the qualification round, blanked DCSK's Noel dela Cruz and Timothy John So Kua in two outings to secure third place in the one-day event. The tournament was backed by WR Chess' Wadim Rosenstein, the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), Quezon City, and the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP)—an indication of the level of institutional support behind the format's push in the country.
More than 100 participants battled through eight grueling rounds for the eight seats in the playoff stage.
The remaining quarterfinalists were Chronosphere's IM Paulo Bersamina and Rafiel Irvin Lacorte, Datamatics Red's Marc Kevin Labog and John Michael Magpily, Ruy Lopez Kidz' Zach Evan Orzame and Marco Piolo Sanido, and Stopper's IM Michael Concio, Jr. and FIDE Master Alekhine Nouri. — Joey Villar
